Boolean Searches: Easier Than You Think

Finding research for a paper can seem like a daunting undertaking, especially if you’ve never had to conduct such thorough research. Maybe it’s for a subject you are not familiar with, for a thesis, or your topic is so narrow that you need articles on a specific topic alone. Well, have no fear: Boolean Search is here!

The logic of Boolean search is pretty straightforward and will save you a great deal of time narrowing down resources. There are three key terms to remember: AND, OR, and NOT. 

• OR: Search results will contain either one or several or all of the search terms. Best used when you want to pull together results on similar topics.
• AND: Search results will contain all search terms, and results where one of the terms is missing will be excluded. AND is best used when you want to retrieve only those results where the search terms overlap.
• NOT: Used to exclude keywords from your search, this term is most effective when your search is ambiguous.

Boolean searches may be utilized through the library databases and numerous search engines (including Google), so they really are an essential logic to learn. Makeuseof.com has a great article on Boolean searches, including pictures, diagrams, and further interpretations. Take a look and find some relief with your research! Until next time!

-Aimee Graham, Online Librarian -